All Access Football Saturday with Giants.com John Schmeelk and Inside the League's Neil Stratton recruiting “football guys”
Giants Huddle with John Schmeelk and Ric. Inside the League Neil Stratton is seeking on ex-players that want to stay in involved in the game. Director Jim Nagy will host Scout School June 4-7
Welcome to All Access Football Saturday night edition!
In today’s email:
Ric sits down with John Schmeelk of Giants.com sit down to discuss the deepest positions in the draft, break down the best players in each position groups, and evaluate which rounds they could be drafted. YouTube.
Along with The Scouting Academy’s Dan Hatman, Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy will host Scout School June 4-7 in Mobile. This year, registration is open solely to former NFL players with at least two years of playing experience in the league. In addition to an effort to give ex-players a chance to stay in the game, Jim and Dan are also helping bring more “football guys” into front offices with this endeavor.
Neil Stratton recaps the scouting Industry 2023 NFL Best Draft Awards
Ask the Scout: Takeaways from our Rookie Agent Zoom
NFL Draft Bible Click here to purchase PDF
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For decades, the Senior Bowl has launched countless top college players it to the highest level of football, the NFL. This year, the game upped the ante by providing a platform for NFL coaches to elevate their respective games, as well. Six coaches who helped out at this year’s game are already climbing the ladder, no doubt in part due to their work in Mobile. However, those aren’t the only people benefiting from the game.
Along with The Scouting Academy’s Dan Hatman, Senior Bowl Executive Director Jim Nagy will host Scout School June 4-7 in Mobile. This year, registration is open solely to former NFL players with at least two years of playing experience in the league. In addition to an effort to give ex-players a chance to stay in the game, Jim and Dan are also helping bring more “football guys” into front offices with this endeavor.
“Jobs in scouting aren’t always easy to come by,” Nagy said. “Our hope is that we can prepare scouting prospects for the game the same way we do with players, and this year, even coaches. An ex-NFL player who’s got a good handle on what it takes to be a scout is someone who’s a great candidate to be hired.”
Jim and Dan take preparation for working in the business seriously. Among the topics they’ll cover are how a modern scouting department is built, what a scout’s lifestyle looks like, how to write a report, how to watch and grade film, even how to make a school visit (Dan and Jim lead a mock visit at nearby South Alabama). Participants also get to hear from speakers who’ve been in their shoes as ex-players seeking to get into player evaluation. Among previous guest speakers have been Lenny McGill, Raiders; Lake Dawson, Bills; Tim Terry, Chiefs; and Jeff King, Bears.
Though Scout School was launched in 2013 under Nagy’s predecessor, Phil Savage, according to this story, this year might be the best time ever to attend. The cost of registration (a $500 value) is covered this year by NFL Football Operations. Costs include coverage of the two-and-a-half-day course, plus meals, but there’s more. Participants will get the chance to be Group Leaders for the 2024 game. Group Leaders walk with the players during the week, making sure they get where they need to be and helping out as necessary. In addition, a few participants will be given a chance to spend the fall shadowing Reese’s Senior Bowl area scouts as they canvas the country. This allows participants to see, up close, what it takes to be a professional NFL evaluator. Both of these opportunities also give participants an invaluable opportunity to build their respective networks and perhaps create relationships that will lead to interviews.
“You can’t be a great player without great training,” Nagy said. “We think Scout School offers a chance to prepare for a career in scouting unlike any ever offered before. We’re excited about what’s ahead in June.”
Slots are filled on a first come, first-served basis. For more information, email srbowl@seniorbowl.com and include “Scout School 2023” in the subject line.
Insidetheleague.com Inaugural Pro Liaison of the Year Award
There is an extraordinary amount of additional work that a college coach takes on when accepting the role of pro liaison. The pro liaison serves as a conduit for college prospects with pro football ambitions and is the lifeline for NFL scouts to obtain pertinent information when compiling a player evaluation.
Congratulations to Matt Godwin from the national champion the University of Georgia Bulldogs for being named the first-ever Pro Liason of the Year Award.
It was just an amazing night all around and look who I found. The Combine legend himself Mark Gorscak!
The 4th Annual ITL C.O. Brocato Memorial Award
The C.O. Brocato Memorial Award honors the distinguished pro football evaluator who has dedicated a lifetime of service to the scouting community.
This year’s winner happens to be one of the most well-distinguished NFL front office personnel executives in the history of the NFL. New York Giants executive scout Jeremiah Davis, who just completed his 34th season as a member of the Giants organization was announced as the 4th Annual ITL C.O. Brocato Memorial Award winner. The award was once again presented by Becky Brocato, the daughter of C.O.
Prior to joining New York, Davis enjoyed stints on staff at Wyoming, Washington, Grambling State, Northern Iowa, Central Florida, Purdue, and Tennessee-Martin. He has worked alongside legends such as Don James, Eddie Robinson, Joe Tiller, Dan Reeves, Tom Coughlin, and Bill Parcells. In addition, Davis has helped construct three Super Bowl Champion teams. What’s more, he’s not just a football man, but also a family man. He and his wife, Marilyn, have a son, Jeremiah, and a daughter, Chloe. It’s safe to say, there is not a man more deserving of this honor, congrats JD.
All-Time Award Winners
2023 – Jeremiah Davis
2022 – Mark Gorscak
2021 – Alonzo Highsmith
2020 – Jeff Shiver
The 2nd Annual ITL Bart List Awards [Pro Tier | College Tier]
Last year, for the first time ever, Inside the League surveyed NFL scouts to determine which 10 college scouts were the best in each conference. The 10 evaluators who received the most votes were named to the inaugural BART List, named after former Rams scout Danton Barto.
This year, ITL expanded the vote to honor college evaluators in two categories, executive and scout, as well as a new pro scouting category. The vote resulted in 27 members of personnel departments earning selection to this special list. The following individuals have been named honorees of the 2nd Annual BART List Awards.
Note: All NFL scouts who have been active in the league for at least five of the last six seasons were eligible to vote.
Pro Scout Category
· Ray Agnew, New York Jets
· Brian Gardner, Tennessee Titans
· Alex Loomis, Dallas Cowboys
· Justin Matthews, New Orleans Saints
· Steven Price, New York Giants
· Tim Terry, Kansas City Chiefs
Executive Category (College)
· Tariq Ahmad, San Francisco 49ers
· Ed Dodds, Indianapolis Colts
· Terrance Gray, Buffalo Bills
· Jeff Ireland, New Orleans Saints
· Kyle Smith, Atlanta Falcons
· Matt Terpening, Indianapolis Colts
· Will McClay, Dallas Cowboys
Scout Category (College)
· Tokunbo Abanikanda , Atlanta Falcons
· Jim Abrams, Miami Dolphins
· Calvin Branch, Las Vegas Raiders
· Mike Baugh, New Orleans Saints
· Marcus Cooper, New York Giants
· Terry Delp, Kansas City Chiefs
· Dom Dericco, San Francisco 49ers
· Mike Derice, New York Giants
· Dom Green, New York Jets
· Brian Hill, Los Angeles Rams
· Doug Majeski, Buffalo Bills
· Ted Monago, Los Angeles Rams
· Pat Sperduto, Kansas City Chiefs
· Johnathon Stigall, New York Jets
· Sam Summerville, Chicago Bears
· Dan Zegers, Cleveland Browns
The 6th Annual ITL Best NFL Draft Award
The Best Draft Award is presented to the NFL organization determined to have selected the most impactful rookie draft class, as chosen by their front office peers.
The winner of the 2022 Best NFL Draft Award goes to John Schneider and the Seattle Seahawks. With quarterback Russell Wilson no longer the face of the franchise, the Seahawks entered the 2022 season with lots of question marks. They needed to retool, and a key part of success would mean adding critical pieces in the draft. Mission accomplished. With their first-round selection, they found a starter at the critical left tackle position in Mississippi State’s Charles Cross.
In the second round, they found a 1,000-yard rusher in Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker and in the third round, they selected a bookend tackle in Washington State’s Abraham Lucas. Cross started 17 games, Lucas started 16, and Walker 11, but that wasn’t all. The team also got multiple starts out of Cincinnati cornerback Coby Bryant, a fourth-round pick, and UTSA corner Tariq Woolen, a fifth-rounder who started 17 games.
Both Walker and Woolen were named to the Pro Football Writers Association All-Rookie team, as Seattle finished 9-8 and clinched a berth in the wildcard round of the playoffs. Congratulations to the Seahawks!
All-Time Award Winners
2022 – John Schenider, Seattle Seahawks
2021 – George Paton, Denver Broncos
2020 – Jason Licht, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2019 – John Lynch, San Francisco 49ers
2018 – Chris Ballard, Indianapolis Colts
2017 – Jeff Ireland, New Orleans Saints
Ask the Scout: Takeaways from our Rookie Agent Zoom
Tuesday night, dozens of our clients who are in their first year as certified contract advisors assembled for our monthly Zoom session. This time, we were joined by Bob Morris, GM of the USFL’s Houston Gamblers. Here are a few takeaways.
I take no joy in saying this, but it’s incredibly hard to get a small-school player into a big-school pro day, and I’d say it’s gotten harder each year over the past decade. It’s gone from “maybe we’ll let you into our pro day if your school is in our state” to “we’re gonna need at least one scout who’s attending the pro day to call and vouch for the player” to “we’re gonna need two scouts to vouch” to “we’re full.” Almost exactly a third of players signed by agents so far are from sub-FBS schools. That’s a lot of players who may not get a chance to work out for scouts.
If you do get a player into a pro day, there’s no guarantee he’ll get to do the entire workout. Most schools use the 40 as a weed-out drill. A slow 40 might mean game over for the entire workout.
There’s a perception that the USFL (and to some degree, the XFL) are easy backup plans for players who go undrafted. However, Bob made it clear that he’s looking for NFL-caliber players and not just any player who’s every put on pads before. Also, the USFL can’t take players who weren’t in the draft pool until after Week 3 of the season (around the end of April). If there are any positives, it’s that the player doesn’t have to undergo a physical or a tryout to become part of the player pool in May. The player just needs a USFL GM to ask the league’s personnel director, John Peterson, to add him to the pool. That way, all eight teams have a crack at him.
In the USFL, players who are brought in for a tryout are responsible for their own travel and lodging. Hey, it’s a new league. They’re trying to be smart about spending money.
Bob said he uses all-star appearances as a good indication of whether or not a player has even minimal appeal to an NFL team. He said he wouldn’t even consider recommending a player for a pro day if he didn’t at least participate in an all-star game.
There are about 1,400 players signed to standard representation agreements this year. The size of the class should be down this year. Given how many Day 3 types went back to school with tidy NIL deals, the depth in the class isn’t great. That’s good news for first-year agents whose clients are more fringe.
“I have worked with Neil for 6 years in the areas of college football and the sport agent industry. I could not have worked with a more professional and detailed-oriented individual that a has pulse on the industry. In addition, he has developed a tremendous sport agent education program that I would highly recommend for all Division I football programs and compliance offices to look into and bring him on their campuses. There is never enough education in this area. Neil brings a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience in this area.”
Brian Battle, Assistant Athletics Director for Compliance, Florida State University
“Neil was a fountain of information when we were narrowing down the agent selection process for Connor. He knew detailed information and background on nearly every agency we asked about, though he never advocated any, and he always had time for us. It was invaluable assistance in selecting the perfect firm for Connor.”
Margaret Bailey, mother of Cincinnati DE/TE/OLB Connor Barwin, the 46th pick (second round) in the 2009 NFL draft by the Houston Texans
Ric’s Sports Illustrated Big Board
QB | RB | FB | WR | TE | OT | OG | OC | DT | EDGE | LB | CB |
NFL Draft Bible Hard copy ($99.00):
Click here to purchase limited edition (250) of the 2023 NFL Draft Bible hard copy
“The most in-depth draft guide ever seen.” – Dick Vermeil, 2022 Pro Football HOF Inductee
Catered towards die-hard draftniks, The NFL Draft Bible Publication has been bringing you the names you need to know for over two decades! It is filled with in-depth scouting analysis, background information, medical reports, stats, and more. The publication features a unique player rating scale that measures each prospect's immediate impact level, potential developmental grade if a player reaches their maximum potential, and a final projection of the type of player they will ultimately become. Additionally, it includes exclusive interviews with NFL GMs, HCs, and draft-eligible players. Founded by Ric Serritella in 2002, you won't find more accurate information compiled on NFL Draft prospects anywhere else in the world!
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Year-round NFL Draft rankings featuring thousands of top prospects.
Hundreds of scouting reports for current and future draft-eligible players.
Insider information gathered firsthand via on-campus visits and pro liaison calls.
Accurate measurables and valuable background intel.
On-location coverage of the all-star game circuit, combine, pro days, and draft events.
Top international prospects from around the globe.
Exclusive email updates and membership benefits.
Established in 2002 by Ric Serritella, NFL Draft Bible is a leading authority on the NFL Draft and is used by all 32 NFL teams. NFL Draft Bible is a member of the Pro Football Writers Association, Football Writers Association of America, National Football Foundation, and the official NFL Draft content provider for Sports Illustrated. Additional partnerships include the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl and HUB Football.
Have a great Saturday!
Ric
